2.01.2017

Gratitude to Eli Bates

Amputee, merchant,

Chicago philanthropist:

All hail Eli Bates

Considered the most successful portrait (statue) of Lincoln in existence, Lincoln the Man is set back, to dramatic effect, from Lincoln Park's southern boundary and entrance at North Avenue.

Circa 1900 to 1910

Gratitude to the monument's benefactor, Eli Bates, was expressed at the 1887 unveiling ceremony with a reading of Bates' biography, and in a permanent way with an inscription at the base, "THE GIFT OF ELI BATES."

Bates was a Chicago lumber merchant who left $40,000 in his 1881 will for a Lincoln statue for Lincoln Park. In addition to funding important local institutions and charities, Bates' will also provided $15,000 for a Lincoln Park fountain. [amounts are roughly $1,000,000 and $370,000 in today's money]

The tragedy, referenced in this article, that Bates faced as a boy resulted in his leg being amputated. He lived the rest of his life with a cork leg.

Like Lincoln, evidence suggests that Bates was a man of great character.

Ten years following Bates' death, a memorial tablet in his honor was erected in the Unity Church which he helped found.

Unity Church (1873) was rebuilt at same Dearborn St. location after its first structure burnt down in the Fire. Kitty-corner to the Newberry Library (1893), it is today the Chicago Cathedral location for Harvest Bible Chapel.

Since Unity Church no longer resides at this Dearborn location, the Eli Bates Memorial tablet is no longer there.

Interior view of Dearborn Street church where Bates Memorial tablet was originally installed.

At some point, Eli Bates Memorial tablet was moved to the Second Unitarian Church at 656 W. Barry.

Exterior view of Second Unitarian Church on Barry Street.

So the benefactor behind the important "Standing Lincoln" was himself loved, honored and respected by his peers, so much so that he too was honored posthumously with an enduring, albeit mostly forgotten, memorial.